Over the last several months I’ve been spending my Wednesdays volunteering at a food bank in downtown Sacramento. After years of doing volunteer work in the schools, I knew I needed to have some regular volunteer gig lined up to fill at least some of my available time, but it took me almost three years to finally decide what that volunteer work would be. Maybe I just needed a break, or felt deserving of retirement. Maybe I was being lazy. But, I think it was perhaps the fact that I’d begun to do some volunteer tasks I didn't like, which taught me the importance of not signing up for just anything because I had the time. I needed to find something that fit my particular strengths or as church folks like to say “gifts.”
A friend of mine is the executive director of River City Food Bank, a Sacramento food bank that is largely a volunteer manned operation near Sutter Fort in Sacramento. I approached her after reading that they needed what was described as an “intake volunteer.” It seemed to fit what I was looking for, which was a task that would put me in direct contact with people needing help. So, I signed up to help out on Wednesdays.
I showed up for my work on that first morning and was quickly trained on how to process the folks who come to the food closet. Soon, I was on my own, begging forgiveness for my slowness to all I served that day. Here is how it works. The doors open at 11:30 and by that time, on busy days, people are lined up outside our little headquarters, a former house on 27th street. On a first come, first served arrangement the “clients” (folks needing food) wait until one of us (usually there are two intake volunteers), is ready to process their information. Most of these people have been in before, so their information has already been entered into our rudimentary computer system. Identification is required of each person and for members of their household needing food. But, we aren’t overly rigid about the ID’s and even if they have nothing, we don’t send them away without some food, we just note it on their file and direct them to services that do provide help with getting an ID. After checking them in, the computer sends a food order to the small back room where we store the food and the volunteers back there package up what we consider a 3 day emergency supply of food for each member of the household. In the case of a single individual, I just head back there myself and put the bags of food together. Unlike many neighborhood food closets that will only serve certain zip codes, we give food to anyone in Sacramento County who needs it, but clients can only come in once each calendar month to receive food.
The food we give out is slightly different each week. It comes from a variety of sources including the USDA commodities program, Sacramento Food Link, Senior Gleaners, local church and organizational can food drives, and local businesses. Occasionally we have stacks of little Pizza Hut personal pizzas that we freeze and pass out and I just assume that they are donated when Pizza Hut makes an overabundance of them for a lunch crowd that ends up lighter than expected. The staples that we try to provide are the basics of bread, soup, vegetables, fruit, eggs, oatmeal, tuna, peanut butter, rice, beans and pasta. Sometimes there is meat but not always. There is an emphasis on nutrition, and during the summer we encourage local home gardeners to grow extra and donate their excess produce.
But this story is really meant to be about connecting with others so let me return to that theme. This is the part I most enjoy and I must admit that since I had never worked with the needy before, I wondered if this really would be the right job for me. Thankfully it was! Did you notice that earlier I referred to these folks as “clients”? Well, that is how they are officially referred to at the food closet. I like that because right from the start it put me in the position and mindset of serving. So, each Wednesday I place it as my goal to serve with kindness and respect each person who sits down at my desk. I ask them about their day, admire their children, note if they have a birthday coming up and listen to their difficulties with sympathy. I just try to get to know them during their moments sitting on the other side of my desk. It is really a joy and each person is different. The majority are not homeless, they have homes and often jobs, but just have a hard time making ends meet. Many are grandparents who are taking care of their grandchildren. Some are elderly. There are a few who have obvious mental illnesses and they can be difficult to communicate with but nevertheless respond to kindness. Some are homeless, dirty and disheveled. I’ve seen a few so hungry that they opened their food right there in our little waiting room to eat out of the can. And, some are picky eaters who tell me what they can and can’t have to eat, as if we were a grocery store and they could pick and choose. I explain to them that there really isn’t much variety back there in the storeroom. We offer them what choices we can like white or wheat bread. Sometimes they will even look through their bags before leaving and give us back food that they know they won’t use. One lady handed me back a jar of peanut butter, saying that she still had some at home and to please give it to someone else who needed food.
The best thing about the job is that I’m not a gatekeeper. I don’t have to decide who qualifies for this help. I am there just to serve the clients who walk through those doors. They are my customers and I spend my time there working hard to gain their respect and satisfaction. I know it sounds a bit crazy, like I’m vying for a superior rating on some retail customer satisfaction report. But, for me it is really an important assignment and perhaps on those Wednesdays the benefit I receive is more than that of the clients. For that day, I put aside judgment, something most of us struggle with. The result is incredibly freeing and challenges me to transfer this behavior to other parts of my life. When we close our doors at 3 PM, I am usually exhausted, but incredibly satisfied, thanking God for using these poor and hungry people to help me learn some important lessons I should have learned long ago.
-Mary
